Gave her fist public reading in Birland, New York, the city's famous jazz spot
She attended Fisk University, and graduated with honors in 1968
In 1969 she was teaching at Queens College
Later that year,(1969), she took a teaching position at Rutgers University and gave birth to her son, Thomas
Around 1970, her focus of poetry was love, tributes to Black music, and irony in statements about racism
In 1995, Nikki Giovanni was diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer survivor
Today, Nikki Giovanni is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia
Nikki Giovanni's Poetry
Nikki Giovanni's focus is on individuals, and the power you yourself have to make an impact in your life and in others
Most poems were about experiences of African Americans
Poems used jazz and blues rhythms
Formed her own publishing company which allowed her to publish her first book, Black Feeling, Black Talk
Early work was about possible violence and the social revolution
Her first published volumes of poetry were her way of responding to the assassinations of black individuals at that time
Later poems wered about family, some humorous
Some of her works including Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, Acolytes, and several others were honored with NAACP Image awards
Her book Rosa reached #3 on The New York Times Bestseller list
She was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award
Poetry:
Black Feeling, Black Talk
Re:Creation
Black Judgement
My House
The Women and the Men
Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day
Those Who Ride the Night Winds
The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni
Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea: Poems and Not Quite Poems
The Prosaic Soul of Nikki Giovanni
The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni
Acolytes
Bicycles: Love Poems
"A Poem for Two Jameses (Ballantine and Snow in Iron Cells)"
we all start as a speck as a speck nobody notices us but some may hope we're there some count days and wait
we grow in a cell that spreads like a summer cold to other people they notice and laugh some are happy some wish to stop our movement
we kick and move are stubborn and demanding completely inside the system
they put us in a cell to make us behave never realizing it's from cells we have escaped and we will be born from their iron cells new people with a new cry
"Nikki-Rosa"
childhood remembrances are always a drag if you’re Black you always remember things like living in Woodlawn with no inside toilet and if you become famous or something they never talk about how happy you were to have your mother all to yourself and how good the water felt when you got your bath from one of those big tubs that folk in Chicago barbecue in and somehow when you talk about home it never gets across how much you understood their feelings as the whole family attended meetings about Hollydale and even though you remember your biographers never understand your father’s pain as he sells his stock and another dream goes and though you’re poor it isn’t poverty that concerns you and though they fought a lot it isn’t your father’s drinking that makes any difference but only that everybody is together and you and your sister have happy birthdays and very good Christmases and I really hope no white person ever has cause to write about me because they never understand Black love is Black wealth and they’ll probably talk about my hard childhood and never understand that all the while I was quite happy
Changes Inspired by Giovanni: Nikki Giovanni has had a significant impact on not only the African-American community but on anyone who has listened to her, or read her work. Some changes she has caused is in her readers' attitudes and perspectives, about racism, and life. When one reads her poem "Nikki-Rosa," one has a better understanding of what the people in the African-American community went through in her youth. The changes she has set into motion cannot be seen just by looking out onto the world, they are within people's thoughts, feelings, opinions, and beliefs. Whether it was through her poetry, essays, or speeches, Nikki Giovanni has touched us all by writing thought provoking, inspiring, and honest words.
Images:
Nikki Giovanni addresses mourners at a gathering for the victims of the Virginia Tech Massacre on Tuesday, April 17, 2007.
A portrait of Nikki Giovanni by Elsa Dorfman, taken around 1980.
Giovanni is interviewed on the Tavis Smiley Show.
Giovanni is a renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and an educator.
Elmore, Shanahan. "WebQuest: The Underground Railroad: Created with Zunal WebQuest Maker." Zunal WebQuest Maker. Zunal, 31 Dec. 1969. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.zunal.com/webquest.php?w=9142> "Biography." Yolanda Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni: Poet, Virginia Tech University Professor. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. <http://nikki-giovanni.com/>. Giovanni, Nikki, and George Ford. "" A Poem for Two Jameses"" 1973. Ego-tripping and Other Poems for Young People. Second ed. Chicago: L. Hill, 1993. 6. Print. Dorfman, Elsa. Portrait of Nikki Giovanni. 1980. Photograph. Wikipedia. 28 Oct. 2006. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Niki-giovanni.jpg>.
Colored Waiting Room Sign. 1943. Photograph. Greyhound Bus Station[1], Rome GA, United States. Wikipedia. By Esther Bubley. 19 July 2006. Web. 28 Jan. 2011.
Nikki Giovanni
created by, Ben, Caroline, and Ava
To hear Nikki Giovanni speak her mind click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efhxc4iM4FY
Information/ Facts:
Nikki Giovanni
Born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1943
Nikki Giovanni's Poetry
Poetry:
Black Feeling, Black Talk
Re:Creation
Black Judgement
My House
The Women and the Men
Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day
Those Who Ride the Night Winds
The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni
Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea: Poems and Not Quite Poems
The Prosaic Soul of Nikki Giovanni
The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni
Acolytes
Bicycles: Love Poems
"A Poem for Two Jameses (Ballantine and Snow in Iron Cells)"
we all start as a speckas a speck
nobody notices us
but some may hope
we're there
some count days and wait
we grow
in a cell that spreads
like a summer cold
to other people
they notice and laugh
some are happy
some wish to stop
our movement
we kick and move
are stubborn and demanding
completely inside
the system
they put us in a cell
to make us behave
never realizing it's from cells
we have escaped
and we will be born
from their iron cells
new people with a new cry
"Nikki-Rosa"
childhood remembrances are always a dragif you’re Black
you always remember things like living in Woodlawn
with no inside toilet
and if you become famous or something
they never talk about how happy you were to have
your mother
all to yourself and
how good the water felt when you got your bath
from one of those
big tubs that folk in Chicago barbecue in
and somehow when you talk about home
it never gets across how much you
understood their feelings
as the whole family attended meetings about Hollydale
and even though you remember
your biographers never understand
your father’s pain as he sells his stock
and another dream goes
and though you’re poor it isn’t poverty that
concerns you
and though they fought a lot
it isn’t your father’s drinking that makes any difference
but only that everybody is together and you
and your sister have happy birthdays and very good
Christmases
and I really hope no white person ever has cause
to write about me
because they never understand
Black love is Black wealth and they’ll
probably talk about my hard childhood
and never understand that
all the while I was quite happy
Changes Inspired by Giovanni: Nikki Giovanni has had a significant impact on not only the African-American community but on anyone who has listened to her, or read her work. Some changes she has caused is in her readers' attitudes and perspectives, about racism, and life. When one reads her poem "Nikki-Rosa," one has a better understanding of what the people in the African-American community went through in her youth. The changes she has set into motion cannot be seen just by looking out onto the world, they are within people's thoughts, feelings, opinions, and beliefs. Whether it was through her poetry, essays, or speeches, Nikki Giovanni has touched us all by writing thought provoking, inspiring, and honest words.
Images:
Works Cited:
"Brief Bio." Afro Poets. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.afropoets.net/nikkigiovanni.html>.
Mossman, Jennifer. Reference Library of American Women. Vol. 2. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Research, 1999. 250-51. Print.
"Nikki Givoanni - Love Poems." North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Web. 24 Jan. 2011. <http://www.ncat.edu/~hmichael/nikki.html>.
Wagner-Martin, Linda. "Giovanni, Nikki." World Book. Vol. 8. 2006. 193-94. Print.
(album), Nikki Giovanni. "Nikki Giovanni." The Poetry Foundation : Find Poems and Poets. Discover Poetry. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/nikki-giovanni>.
"Tavis Smiley . Shows . Nikki Giovanni . February 26, 2007 | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/archive/200702/20070226_giovanni.html>.
"September 2007." Blackgivesback. Ed. Tracey. BlackGivesBack, 27 Sept. 2007. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. <http://www.blackgivesback.com/2007_09_01_archive.html>.
Elmore, Shanahan. "WebQuest: The Underground Railroad: Created with Zunal WebQuest Maker." Zunal WebQuest Maker. Zunal, 31 Dec. 1969. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.zunal.com/webquest.php?w=9142>
"Biography." Yolanda Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni: Poet, Virginia Tech University Professor. Web. 27 Jan. 2011.
<http://nikki-giovanni.com/>.
Giovanni, Nikki, and George Ford. "" A Poem for Two Jameses"" 1973. Ego-tripping and Other Poems for Young People. Second ed. Chicago: L. Hill, 1993. 6. Print.
Dorfman, Elsa. Portrait of Nikki Giovanni. 1980. Photograph. Wikipedia. 28 Oct. 2006. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Niki-giovanni.jpg>.
Nikki Giovanni Addresses Crowd. 2007. Photograph. Wikipedia. 18 Apr. 2007. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2007_Virginia_Tech_massacre_-_Nikki_Giovanni_speaks.jpg>.
Nikki Picture. Photograph. My Favorite Nikki Giovanni Poems. Web. 4 Jan. 2011. http://www.ncat.edu/~hmichael/nikki.html.
Nikki Giovanni, "A Poem for Two Jameses (Ballantine and Snow in Iron Cells)"
Works Cited: Video Images:
1963 March On Washington. 1963. Photograph. Washington. Wikipedia. 10 Nov. 2005. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1963_march_on_washington.jpg>.Nikki Picture. Photograph. My Favorite Nikki Giovanni Poems. Web. 4 Jan. 2011. http://www.ncat.edu/~hmichael/nikki.html.
Colored Waiting Room Sign. 1943. Photograph. Greyhound Bus Station[1], Rome GA, United States. Wikipedia. By Esther Bubley. 19 July 2006. Web. 28 Jan. 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1943_Colored_Waiting_Room_Sign.jpg>.
Dance at Naval Base. 1945. Photograph. San Diego. Naval History and Heritage Command. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/prs-tpic/af-amer/san-dieg.htm>.
Nikki Giovanni Addresses Crowd. 2007. Photograph. Wikipedia. 18 Apr. 2007. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2007_Virginia_Tech_massacre_-_Nikki_Giovanni_speaks.jpg>.
Photodisc. Two Young African-American Siblings Pose Together. Photograph. Jupiter Images. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <http://www.jupiterimages.com/Image/royaltyFree/rbk1_15>.
Stitt, Jason. Laughing, Pointing Girl. Photograph. Dreamstime. Web. 28 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-laughing-pointing-girl-image3982890>.
Women Protesters. 1960. Photograph. New Orleans. Ruby Bridges Foundation. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <http://rubybridgesfoundation.org/vision/rubys-story/>.
"Children and Rights - Murray N. Rothbard - Mises Daily." Ludwig Von Mises Institute - Homepage. Web. 28 Jan. 2011.
<http://mises.org/daily/2568>.
Harvey, Steve. "People: No Longer Needed To Make Babies? | ELEV8." Health Advice, Inspiration & Gospel Music for Black America | Elev8. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
<http://elev8.com/spirit/prayer-support/sharnellblevins/people-not-needed-to-make-babies/.>
"Welcome to Pastor John's Web Site." Pastor John's Site. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.johnecoleman.org/Ramie Lynch Articles.htm.>
"The Power of Pause- Beliefnet.com." Inspiration, Spirituality, Faith, Religion.- Beliefnet.com. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2009/09/How-to-Relax.aspx?p=3>.
"What You Can Do." ACE - Aiding Conservation through Education. Web. 28 Jan. 2011.
http://www.ace-charity.org.uk/help.html.